US-SCIENCE Summary

Sep 25, 2011, 6:38 a.m.

Remains of satellite may never be found, NASA says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A six-ton NASA science satellite crashed to Earth on Saturday, leaving a mystery about where a ton of space debris may have landed. The U.S. space agency said it believes the debris ended up in the Pacific Ocean, but the precise time of the bus-sized satellite's re-entry and the location of its debris field have not been determined.

"Faster than light" particles threaten Einstein

GENEVA (Reuters) - Sub-atomic particles apparently traveling faster than light could force a major rethink of theories about how the cosmos works and even allow dreams of time travel and extra dimensions, scientists said on Friday. Jeff Forshaw, a professor of particle physics at Britain's Manchester University, said the results, if confirmed, would mean it would be possible in theory "to send information into the past."

Mouse virus link to chronic fatigue crumbling

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have retracted part of a 2009 study from the journal Science linking chronic fatigue syndrome with a mouse virus as evidence continues to mount against the virus as a cause of the mysterious disease. In addition to the partial retraction, Science published on Thursday new research that cast doubt on the theory. A U.S.-backed study found no trace of the XMRV virus, and a related mouse virus, in blood samples taken from healthy people and those with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Penguins identify mates, kin by smell, study finds

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Penguins can sniff out the odor of lifelong mates, helping them reunite in crowded colonies, and also can identify the scent of close kin to avoid inbreeding, scientists said on Wednesday. Some seabirds have previously been known to use their sense of smell to find food or locate nesting sites but the experiments with captive Humboldt Penguins at Brookfield Zoo near Chicago proved, for the first time, that the birds use scent to discriminate between close relatives and strangers.

"What would you name a new worm?" asks UK museum

LONDON (Reuters) - What name would you give to a species of Antarctic, sea-dwelling worm that spends its time 2,000 metres below the water's surface, wriggling in the rotting carcasses of whales? The British public will get to name five newly discovered species of this deep-sea worm, the Natural History Museum in London said on Friday, as it opens its doors to explain that taxonomy -- the practice of naming new species -- is not taxing, but fun.

Arkansas' lost moon rock found in Clinton's gubernatorial files

LITTLE ROCK, Ark (Reuters) - For years, Arkansas historians have searched for a valuable lunar rock from the Apollo 17 mission, one of the moon rocks NASA presented to each state in the 1970s. While other states also continue to dig for the rocks that came to be known as the Goodwill Moon Rocks, the mystery in Arkansas was solved Wednesday -- sort of -- when an archivist discovered it in former President Bill Clinton's gubernatorial papers.